


In Hop Of Protection

by storm_aurora



Series: The Armory Archives [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Black 2 & White 2 | Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 Versions, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pancakes, Platonic Affection, Pre-Canon, Protective Dande | Leon, Sibling Bonding, Siblings, Sleepy Hop, Various cameos from friends/family of other Champions, it's now 2am and i have only a vague semblance of the rest of the plot, listen i had the idea for this at 2pm, might add more character tags too, no beta we die like hop's self-esteem, they are absolutely critical to the plot i swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26541505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storm_aurora/pseuds/storm_aurora
Summary: But now...he’ll be seeing his brother in two weeks. And he’ll get to spend four whole days with him. And he’ll get to travel to a new region for the first time ever! And he’ll get to watch Lee battle live in person! He’s getting giddy beyond belief all over again. Four days, just the two of them. Enough time to do all the goofy, pointless, fun things they want.Champion Leon's been invited to Unova for the opening of the new Pokémon World Tournament, and this time Hop gets to come along for the ride. Hop's excited to meet new people, see new places, find rare Pokémon, watch exciting battles, and of course, spend lots of time with his favorite big brother! But doing all those things might not be as easy as he thought...
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Hop, Hop & Iris (Pokemon)
Series: The Armory Archives [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048726
Comments: 17
Kudos: 67





	1. Big News

**Author's Note:**

> This may be the most self-indulgent fic I have ever posted. I hope it's as enjoyable for you as it is for me.
> 
> Oh, and for the record, while I might start fudging timelines later on down the road, Hop is ~11-12 while Leon is ~18-19 for this fic.

“Mum! We’re home!” Hop shouts, throwing the front door open. Wooloo rolls in after him.

She doesn’t acknowledge that she heard him, which is odd, but he hears her voice coming from the living room. Do they have a visitor? Or is she on the phone with someone? It sounds like she’s retelling the story of how Hop accidentally fell into the Wooloo flock’s water trough last week, which, ugh. Typical. It’s too much to hope for that she’ll stop talking about it if she knows Hop is listening, but he figures he’ll show his face all the same.

While Wooloo opts to trot upstairs for a nap, Hop pokes his head into the living room. Mum’s Rotom Phone is hovering above the coffee table while she sits on the couch, wildly gesticulating to add to her retelling. Must be doing a video call, then. Hop perks up at the realization. There aren’t that many people that Mum would bother with a video call, and the people she does video call tend to be some of his favorites.

“…and, speak of the devil,” Mum smiles, finally looking over at Hop. “Guess who just got home.”

A familiar, hearty chuckle crackles through Rotom’s speakers. “Is it the Wooloo?”

“ _Lee_!” Hop shrieks. He sprints across the room and dives onto Mum’s lap, twisting in midair so he can face Rotom’s screen with his brother’s smiling face on it. “You didn’t tell me you were gonna call today! Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have gone out with Wooloo if I’d known you were gonna call!”

Lee’s phone calls are always the highlight of his week. Always, always, always. He only finds time to call two or three times a month, which is already far too few times in Hop’s opinion. That makes the times he does call all the more special. So, Hop is incredibly miffed that he missed any of that precious time with his brother. He might be pouting a little.

“Aw, but it’s not a surprise phone call if you know it’s coming,” Lee grins. “How’s my favorite little brother doing?”

“I’m your only little brother,” Hop says, sticking his tongue out at him.

“If you’re gonna give me that attitude, I might just have to get a new one,” Lee says, sticking his tongue out too.

“I can see you, you know,” Mum says.

Lee smiles and ducks his head, embarrassed. Guess he didn’t know Mum could see the screen from her position behind Hop.

She taps Hop on the arm. “Hop, sweetie, I love you, but you’re getting a little big to be sitting on my lap. Scooch over.”

“Sorry, Mum,” Hop says sheepishly, sliding off her lap and settling in next to her on the couch.

“Anyways, now that you’re here, Hop, I can tell you the big news,” Lee says.

That catches Hop’s attention. “Big news? What big news?”

“Well, there’s a new battle facility opening up in Unova in a couple weeks,” he explains. “They call it the Pokémon World Tournament. They’re going to offer different types of tournaments for Unovan Trainers of all skill levels to participate in. But for the more elite tournaments, they want to invite skilled Trainers from all over the world to take part. I’ve been invited to the opening ceremonies and to participate in the inaugural tournament.”

“You’re going to _Unova_!?” Hop exclaims, jolting closer to the screen. “That’s so cool! It’s so far away! I’ve never been to Unova. Can you bring me back a souvenir? No, wait, that’s rude. Oh, oh, you’ve gotta send me tons of pictures! Especially of the Pokémon! They have _tons_ of cool Pokémon in Unova that you can’t find here in Galar, right? I wanna hear all about them! I wanna hear about _everything_! Wait, wait, you’re gonna be in a tournament, right? Are the matches gonna be televised? I need to watch you beat everyone–”

“Alright, slow down there, Hopscotch,” Lee chuckles, holding up a placating hand. “I’m glad you’re excited, but I wasn’t done.”

“Oh. S-sorry,” Hop flushes pink. It’s not the first time Lee has left the region as part of his Champion duties, but it is the first time he’s gone to Unova as far as Hop can recall. Hop’s never gotten to leave the region _ever_ , so he can’t help getting excited whenever his brother gets to go somewhere new and exotic.

Plus, it’s always so much _fun_ when Lee goes on work trips. He calls them every day to tell them about all the interesting things he did or saw, and they’re always so much more exciting than whatever stories of the day Hop has to tell, but he still listens to Hop’s stories after he’s done with his. And when he gets _back_ , he makes a point to visit home as soon as possible, so he can give Mum and Hop souvenirs from some obscure little tourist attraction he visited and show them all the pictures he took. They’re never particularly _good_ , mind – Lee could really use some photography tips from Raihan – but they showcase all these different places that Hop’s never been to and all the unique cultures and histories of other regions and, most importantly, they’re accompanied by the thrilling stories and enjoyable company of his big bro.

It’s the closest Hop ever comes to feeling like he has a normal brother.

(Not that having an atypical brother is bad! Hop _loves_ his brother. He’s awesome and strong and special and Hop doesn’t mind that his relationship with his brother is different than what most siblings have. But, sometimes…sometimes it’s nice to feel like he’s not so different after all.)

“So, I’ve known about the tournament for a while,” Lee continues. “But it turns out that I missed one little detail on the invitation. They’re allowing me to bring a guest.”

“A guest?” Mum echoes, a hint of wariness in her tone.

“Mhm. Travel, accommodations, and food at the hotel are all paid for, and they get a reserved box for the opening ceremony and my tournament matches. It’s a pretty sweet deal.” Lee hesitates and rubs the back of his neck, like he’s nervous or something. But Lee doesn’t get nervous, right? “Uh, if you’ll allow it, Mum…I was hoping to bring Hop with me.”

Hop lets out an excited, high-pitched squeal that makes Mum wince. “Really!?” He feels like he’s practically vibrating. He gets to go to _Unova_! With his _brother_! And watch a tournament, live! He gets to see his brother – Galar’s great unbeatable Champion – defeat elite Trainers from all over the world and prove to everyone how great the trainers of Galar really are! He’s so ecstatic that his brother even wants to take him along that he doesn’t notice how Mum is having the exact opposite reaction.

“Leon…I don’t know that that’s a good idea.”

Hop freezes. He thinks his heart might’ve stopped beating for a second. He turns to face his mother, expression slowly crumpling. She’s not seriously going to – no, she can’t – she won’t possibly – this is the most exciting thing that’s happened to Hop in _ages_ and she’s – won’t – allow…?

“Unova’s so far away,” Mum continues. “I don’t like the idea of my little Hop traveling so far all on his own–”

“He won’t be alone,” Lee says, affronted. “He’ll be with me.”

“Not all the time,” she retorts. “I’m sure you’re going to be busy with official Champion duties sometimes. And what about during the tournament? You can’t take him onto the pitch with you.”

“No, but he’ll be watching all the matches from a private box. No one’s gonna kidnap him from the stadium, Mum.”

“And when he can’t be with you? When you’ve got meetings or press conferences or whatever else it is you’ve got to do at these things?”

Lee runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “It might happen,” he concedes. “But he’ll be fine. He’s not a little kid anymore. Right, Hop?”

“Huh?” Hop startles a little at being drawn back into the conversation.

He looks at Lee for the first time since Mum started talking, and the corners of Lee’s eyes crease with worry. Does Hop really look that upset? He feels a little moisture in the corners of his eyes and quickly rubs it away. Okay, maybe he does. It’s just – to get his hopes up so much and then have them dashed so suddenly – it’s a very intense rollercoaster of emotions right now.

Lee looks back at Mum, a quiet intensity blazing in his eyes. “You let him outside with Wooloo earlier and no one else was with him. Heck, I was even younger than him when I went on my Gym Challenge. What makes this any different?”

Mum smiles sadly. “The difference is that here, if something happens, I’m close enough that I can come and help. If something happens in Unova, I’m thousands of miles away.”

“ _If_ something happens, I’ll take care of it,” Lee declares. “Just like I always do.”

Mum sighs and puts her arm around Hop’s shoulders, pulling him into her side. “I can’t help worrying about my baby,” she admits. She glances at Lee and smiles. “About _both_ my babies.”

“Mum,” Lee groans, his face turning red. “I’m an adult. _And_ the Champion.”

“Doesn’t matter how old you get or how many battles you win,” Mum says fondly. “You’ll never stop being my babies.”

“M’not a baby,” Hop protests, pushing Mum’s arm away. His cheeks are almost as red as Lee’s.

Lee clears his throat. “Mum, I promise I’ll do everything in my power to keep Hop safe,” he says. “I think it’ll be good for him to see what it’s like being in another region himself. And I think it’ll make him really happy. So…can he come to Unova with me?” He looks at her hopefully.

Hop, himself, gives her the most pleading eyes he can muster. “Please?” he adds, because Lee never said it and maybe Mum would be swayed by Hop being polite.

She looks between the two boys, her expression carefully neutral. “How long will you be gone?” she asks Lee.

“Four days,” he says quickly. “I’ll have him back before you know it.”

Mum hums thoughtfully, looking back at Hop. “Four days. That’s less than a week.”

Hop nods, wondering where she’s going with this.

A small smirk appears on her face. “Are you sure you can put up with your brother for that long?”

Hop giggles, the action releasing some of the tension from his shoulders. “I’ll survive.”

“You mean…?” Lee says hopefully.

“Yes,” Mum says, and Hop feels a wave of relief wash over him. “You can take Hop with you to Unova.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!!” Hop exclaims giddily, giving Mum a big hug. Lee thanks Mum, too, and while it’s not as enthusiastic as Hop’s, there’s no less warmth in his tone.

“I’ll send you all the details as soon as I can,” Lee says. “In the meantime…Hop, anything exciting happen around Postwick lately that I should know about?”

“Nothing as exciting as getting to go to Unova!” Hop responds instantly. Mum and Lee both laugh at that. He tries to push his excitement about their upcoming trip to the side and remember anything that happened in Postwick since Lee’s last call. Even the non-exciting stuff. “Um…I made pancakes yesterday.”

“Pancakes?”

“For breakfast,” Hop clarifies, as if one would eat pancakes at any other time. He juts his chin up proudly. “All by myself. Mum wasn’t even awake yet!”

“That’s awesome, Hop! Maybe I should hire you as my new live-in chef,” Lee says cheekily. “I can’t cook to save my life.”

“I’m aware,” Hop says, pulling a face that makes Lee snort. He still remembers the last time Lee had tried making pancakes for them. The whole house smelled like smoke for the rest of the day.

“What else is new with you?”

Hop hums. “Wooloo and I raced from Postwick to Wedgehurst today. I won.”

“Congrats! You’ve always been quick on your feet, little bro,” Lee beams.

“Yeah, well, I always beat Wooloo,” Hop shrugs, but he can’t help it if his smile gets a little bigger at the praise. “Next time I’m gonna race _you_.”

“Well, guess I’d better start training then,” Lee says with a smile.

“What?” Hop says, brow furrowing.

“To make sure I don’t lose to you. We can race on our way to the station.” When Hop still looks puzzled, he adds, “I’ll be there in two weeks, remember?”

“Oh!” Hop flushes with embarrassment that it took him so long for the pieces to click together. He’s used to making those kinds of challenges thoughtlessly, something to get excited about in the moment but always knowing that it’s unlikely to ever happen. Because Lee just doesn’t get to come home very often, and when he does they have more important things to do than see who can climb up to the roof the fastest or herd the most Wooloo or make it to Wedgehurst first. If Hop even remembers making the challenge at all.

But now…he’ll be seeing his brother in two weeks. And he’ll get to spend _four whole days_ with him. _And_ he’ll get to travel to a new region for the first time ever! _And_ he’ll get to watch Lee battle live in person! He’s getting giddy beyond belief all over again. Four days, just the two of them. Enough time to do all the goofy, pointless, _fun_ things they want. Like racing from Postwick to Wedgehurst.

“I’m not gonna lose, you know,” Hop says, smiling so wide that he thinks his cheeks might fall off. “I’m really, really, really fast!”

“Finally, a worthy opponent,” Lee says, making his voice sound deep and gravelly. Hop starts laughing, and then Lee starts laughing, and then Mum joins in. And to an outsider it might just look like two people laughing at a phone screen, but to Hop this is what family really looks like. He won’t have it any other way.

Even so…two weeks can’t come fast enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no update schedule for this fic. It updates at the whim of the muse, and she's been very finicky as of late. So please have patience and give her some kind words if you can <3
> 
> At the moment I'm estimating about 4 more chapters for this fic, one for every day they're in Unova. That number may increase or decrease depending on how much detail I decide I want to go into with everything. I predict a 75% chance of fluff with a 25% chance for angst. 
> 
> If the angst happens, just know that it is entirely Leon's fault and I am not to blame.


	2. Welcome to Unova

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter quickly wound up becoming more than twice as long as the previous one. Whoops. That "four more chapters" estimate I gave last time is definitely gonna get bumped up to at least five. I don't have anything to say in my defense except that Hop and Leon are so much fun to write.
> 
> Enjoy!

As it turns out, there are a lot of preparations that need to be made for the trip. Hop volunteers to help with the planning, but after Mum and Lee have gone back and forth on what airline they’re going to fly with for the third time, Hop realizes that the process of preparing for a trip like this is far more complicated – and boring – than he imagined.

Mum suggests that Hop research things to do after they’ve arrived in Unova – the Pokémon World Tournament is just south of a place called Driftveil City, and it’s jam-packed with tourist attractions and other fascinating sights. Hop takes up his new task with aplomb, researching all he can about Driftveil City and the Pokémon that can be found in the area. He comes up with pages and pages of fun stuff that he and Lee can do together. But when Mum sees his list, she reminds him that they’re only going to be there for four days, and they’ll be spending most of that time at the tournament. So Hop reluctantly narrows down his to-do list to only a couple of things.

Even with the task of setting up the itinerary to occupy his time, the two weeks to their departure pass by at an agonizingly slow pace. At least Lee’s calling Mum frequently to hash out logistics, so Hop gets to talk to him a lot more often. He makes a comment to Lee that he should call this often _all_ the time, not just when they’re planning something special. Lee just laughs.

A couple of days before they’re set to leave, Mum informs Hop that they’re going up to meet Lee at the airport instead of Lee coming down to pick him up. He knows, logically, that it’s the most practical option; they’re flying out of Wyndon, so it doesn’t make sense for Lee to come all the way down to Postwick when he’s _already_ in Wyndon. Still, he feels a little sting of disappointment all the same.

“We were gonna have a race, Mum,” Hop whines.

“I know, sweetie,” Mum says, ruffling Hop’s hair. “But Leon’s still going to bring you back here so you guys can tell me all about your trip in person. So you can race on your way home, alright?”

“Okay…”

The night before their departure finds Hop sprawled out on his bed, fantasizing about the trip. He’s never been on a plane before, and Mum says it’s a lot different than riding a Flying Taxi. His mind is filled with countless scenarios about what he’ll say to Lee when he sees him at the airport, what it’ll be like seeing the world from the height of a plane, what the first new Pokémon they’ll encounter will be, and all kinds of things that make his heart race with excitement. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to sleep a wink.

But eventually, he _does_ fall asleep, because the next thing he knows Mum is shaking him awake and asking him to double-check that he packed everything because they need to make sure they’re not late getting to the plane and it turns out Hop _did_ forget a few things like his toothbrush and toothpaste and Wooloo’s brush and he’s cramming everything into his belongings wherever he can find room and there’s not even any time to grab breakfast before Mum is rushing him out the door.

Hop’s finally able to take a breather once they’ve gotten on the train to Wyndon. He watches out the window as the idyllic country scenery flashes by; he wonders what the scenery will look like in Unova. From what he read, it seems like Driftveil is more of a bustling city like Motostoke or Wyndon than a pastoral town like Postwick or Wedgehurst. He can’t wait to explore it with his big brother.

Mum takes advantage of the fact that Hop’s stuck at her side for two hours straight by drilling him on the safety rules that he needs to follow on the trip. Some of them are the usual stuff like “don’t go anywhere with strangers” and “tell a trusted adult if you feel unsafe”, but there are also specific rules for this trip: don’t go anywhere alone without Wooloo, don’t go anywhere after dark without Lee, stay in the reserved box during tournament matches, always listen to what Lee says. Hop thinks that last one will be the easiest to follow because he already listens to Lee all the time, but Mum clarifies that she’s talking about things like “if Leon says it’s time for bed, it’s time for bed.” Suddenly, that rule seems a lot more annoying.

To make up for the tedious safety lesson, Mum buys pancakes from the train’s café car for breakfast. Hop wishes she had picked literally anything else – his homemade pancakes were much better. These pancakes taste rubbery and bland and are practically cold, like they’ve been sitting out for hours. Still, food is food, and Hop scarfs down the pancakes without complaint.

Finally, they arrive in Wyndon. It’s not uncommon for people to take the train to Wyndon and then to the airport, hence why one of the monorail lines is devoted to that purpose. They transfer to the monorail, and Hop bounces eagerly in his seat for the whole ride.

“Where is he? Where is he?” Hop demands as soon as they get into the airport, whipping his head back and forth as he scans the crowd of people around them.

“Patience, Hop,” Mum chuckles. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

“What if he got lost on his way to the airport? We should go look for him. I know the way to his flat from here!”

“That’s great!” Mum says. “But I think we should wait a little bit longer before we start putting together a search party.”

Hop pouts. He’s been waiting for this day for _two whole weeks_ – he thinks he’ll die if he has to wait another second longer for Lee to show up.

“Hop! Mum!”

Hop knows that voice.

“Lee!” he shrieks, whirling around in the direction of the voice. His brother is jogging towards them from the other side of the terminal, Charizard following a few feet behind. But Hop has never been one to sit back and let Lee do all the work. He sprints across the terminal and meets Lee halfway, leaping into his arms for a hug.

Lee gives the _best_ hugs – strong and sturdy, holding Hop tight like nothing will ever be able to rip him away. When he laughs, the vibrations in his chest tickle Hop like a mug of hot cocoa on a chilly day. And the one benefit of having a brother who’s so much taller than him is that Hop can wrap his arms and legs around Lee like a Komala, and Lee’s barely bothered by it at all.

However, murmuring and camera shutters suddenly remind Hop that they’re in a public place, and his brother is the Champion. Even without his Champion uniform on – he’s just wearing casual clothes for the plane ride – Lee’s long purple hair and signature Pokémon are instantly recognizable. Of course people are taking notice of them. Suddenly self-conscious, Hop squirms out of his brother’s arms and drops back to the ground. He’s _twelve_ now; he’s getting too old for hugs. The last things he needs is his childish love for his brother’s hugs broadcast for everyone in Galar to see.

Mum’s caught up to them by now, so Lee greets her with a hug while Hop says hi to Charizard. Lee’s been making Charizard lug around his suitcases, and he probably had to guide Lee to the airport too – Charizard deserves some head rubs and treats for that. But Hop’s fresh out of treats, so head rubs will have to do.

When Hop turns back to Lee and Mum, he finds with a smug sense of satisfaction that she’s drilling _him_ on the safety rules now. Then, she brings both him and Hop in for goodbye hugs and kisses. It’s thoroughly embarrassing, in Hop’s opinion. But when Mum finally lets them go, Lee doesn’t seem bothered by it at all; he just flashes his Champion smile to the crowd and waves as Mum heads back to the monorail.

Lee turns to Hop. “Ready to have a champion time in the Unova region?”

“You bet!” Hop exclaims, pumping both his fists. “Unova region, here we come!”

* * *

Hop’s first plane ride is not _nearly_ as exciting as he thought it would be.

It’s thrilling at first, being pushed back into his seat as the plane accelerates, feeling the little jolt when the wheels finally pull off the ground, watching the skyscrapers of Wyndon slowly get smaller and smaller as they get higher into the air. But then they’re up in the clouds, over the ocean, and Hop quickly realizes that there’s nothing more to see; not even Flying-type Pokémon can get this high. He understands now why Mum had suggested he bring lots of books to read on the flight.

The flight is _long_ – Hop doesn’t know how many hours it’s been since they took off. He’s been through two books already and is halfway through a third. With how full he is from the meal they served earlier, Hop’s having difficulty holding his head up, but he doesn’t want to fall asleep – the hero is exploring the cave that holds the legendary sword, and Hop wants to see what happens when he finds it! But, maybe it won’t hurt to rest his head on Lee’s arm. Just for a bit. He can keep reading in that position…

“Psst, Hop.”

Hop jolts awake with a start. He blinks rapidly and looks at his brother, who gestures towards the window. He presses his face to the glass and gasps, feeling his residual sleepiness slip away like a blanket sliding off his shoulders.

A big city sprawls out beneath them, filled with tons of tall buildings covered in emerald-colored glass. People and Pokémon the size of toothpicks bustle about the streets. There’s a large drawbridge leading into the city, and a big port filled with ships leading up to it. There are two huge buildings that look like they could be stadiums – a big blue dome next to the port and a large diamond-shaped building on the opposite end of the city. A bunch of houses with flat orange roofs are crowded by the shore, and further inland stands a large open-air pavilion that seems to be receiving a lot of foot traffic.

Lee squeezes his face next to Hop’s on the glass. “See that?” He points to the blue dome. “That’s the Pokémon World Tournament. Make sure you memorize where it is, ’cuz I’m counting on you to get us there,” he says, giving his brother a playful nudge.

Hop grins and points to the other stadium. “Is that the Gym, then?”

“Might be. Could also be that big building on the hill.”

The building Lee is pointing out is indeed big for a house – calling it a mansion would be more accurate. “But it’s way too small to be a stadium,” Hop says.

“Well, Gyms in other regions look a little different from the ones we have in Galar. They’re not big spectator events, so they don’t need room for thousands of fans to watch the match.”

“Whoa… That’s weird.”

“Galarian culture’s sure unique in how much we value Pokémon battling,” Lee says, sitting back in his seat and folding his arms. “That was one of the first things I discovered leaving the region for the first time. Other regions have plenty of strong Trainers, sure…but it’s just not a big honor to take on the Gym Challenge or be part of the League. It’s different.”

“Yeah! I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up in a place where they don’t love Pokémon battles like we do.”

“I’m sure you’d find some other passion. Maybe you’d dream of being a professor.” He nudges the books spilling out of Hop’s backpack on the floor. “You sure read enough for it.”

“Nah,” Hop declares, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back in his seat. “You’d still be the unbeatable Champion, and I’d still be the first one to beat you. That won’t change no matter what region we live in.”

Lee laughs. “I bet you’re right.”

* * *

Once they deboard the plane, Hop takes the lead guiding them to the baggage claim carousel to pick up their luggage. Even with all the signs around pointing them in the right direction, Lee still wouldn’t have been able to get there without Hop’s help.

Hop finds himself yawning as they wait for the luggage to be loaded onto the belt. He still feels sleepy, which is weird considering how bright it is outside. Maybe it’s just the lack of sleep from last night catching up to him, but he finds himself actually considering the possibility of taking a nap. The only thing that stops him is the fact that he’s in the middle of a crowded airport, which isn’t the ideal location for napping.

Evidently, he’s so out of it that he doesn’t even notice that the luggage has been loaded onto the carousel until Lee is putting Hop’s suitcase at his feet and going back to grab his own. Lee puts his own suitcase beside Hop’s and says something that Hop belatedly realizes is a question addressed to him.

“Huh?”

“I said, you just brought the one suitcase, right?” Lee repeats.

Hop blinks, waiting for his brain to process the words. It takes longer than it should. “Um, right.”

Lee chuckles. “Jet lag hitting hard, huh?”

“Jet lag?” The words should have meaning to Hop, but he can’t parse it out. It sounds like a pretty accurate description of how he’s feeling, though.

“Unova’s time zone is six hours behind us. It’s only four o’clock here, but to your body it feels like it’s ten,” Lee explains. “Your internal body clock’s all messed up. Might take you a couple days to adjust, but you’ll get used to it.”

“It’s not affecting you…”

“Well, I travel around a lot. My body’s a little more accustomed to time zone changes.” Lee lowers his voice. “Plus, don’t tell Mum, but I haven’t been keeping a great sleep schedule lately. Can’t throw my internal body clock out of sync if my internal body clock was never synced up to begin with.”

Hop gives Lee his best disapproving glare. “Lee. You need to sleep. That’s bad for you.”

Lee snickers, and Hop’s frown deepens. What did he say that was so funny? “Whatever you say, Hopscotch,” he says, ruffling Hop’s hair.

Hop swats his hand away. “Stop calling me that.” The nickname was cute when he was a little kid, but he’s not a little kid anymore. But Lee keeps using it no matter how many times Hop asks him to stop. Even Hop’s awesome brother isn’t immune to the sibling instinct to be as annoying as possible.

(The nickname's started to grow on Hop, but he’ll never admit that out loud.)

“Now, the first thing we need to do from here is check in at the hotel,” Lee says, keeping one eye on the luggage carousel and one eye on Hop. “Once we’ve dropped off all our stuff, we’ll be heading to the PWT for the opening ceremony. We can grab a bite to eat once we’re there, and the ceremony’ll wrap up around eight-thirty or nine. That’s about…” Lee checks his phone. “Five hours from now. Think you can stay awake that long?” Hop rubs his eyes. “It’s alright if you can’t. You can stay at the hotel and take a nap instead. Opening ceremonies are just a bunch of pomp and circumstance, so you’re not missing much.”

“No way! I wanna see it!” Hop cries. There’s no way he’s gonna spend his first day in Unova sleeping in a hotel room! He slaps his cheeks and shakes the sleepiness out of his limbs, much the same way his brother pumps himself up before matches. Then, he gives Lee a cheeky grin. “Plus, somebody’s gotta make sure you don’t get lost on the way!”

Lee laughs and shakes his head. “Where would I be without you, Hop?”

“By now? Halfway across Kalos.”

By the time Lee’s second suitcase finally comes around the carousel, Hop is getting jittery. He’s already seen a ton of new Pokémon through the big glass windows and he can’t wait to get outside and meet them. But beyond the Pokémon, he’s barely gotten to see any of Unova – that needs to change as quickly as possible! He bounces on the balls of his feet; why’s it taking so long just for Lee to get his suitcases ready to roll? Hop just wants to go, go, _go_ already!

“Right,” Lee finally says, “ready to–”

“Race ya!” Hop shouts, grabbing his suitcase and dashing into the crowd.

“Hop! _Wait_!”

Hop laughs and weaves through the strangers, suitcase bouncing along behind him. The airport’s large enough and the crowd scattered enough that he can sprint through it at close to top speed, letting him burn off some of that nervous energy. He doesn’t slow down until he reaches a set of stairs and escalators; with his suitcase, he can’t run up these, and it would be rude to push past people on the escalator.

A hand clasps his upper arm firmly. Hop tries to pull away on instinct before turning around, and his stomach drops to somewhere around his feet. It’s Lee, and he doesn’t look happy. His lips are pressed into a firm line, his eyebrows are furrowed, and there’s not a trace of mirth in his eyes.

“Hop,” he says, and that one word is enough to make Hop want to curl up into a little ball and hide. “What did Mum say about running off into crowds?”

“Don’t do it,” Hop mumbles.

“And do you know why you shouldn’t do it?”

“’Cuz if I run off, then you’ll get lost.”

Lee’s intense glare gives way to confusion for a brief second before coming back in full force. “Exactly. And the last thing either of us needs is getting lost in a new city. _Don’t_ do that again, Hop. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good,” Lee says, his expression relaxing into an easy smile. He lets go of Hop’s arm and pulls him into a hug. “Lost sight of you in the crowd for a minute. Had me worried.”

“Sorry, Lee,” Hop says, hugging his brother tight.

As they grab their suitcases and get on the escalator, Lee mutters under his breath, “For the record, that is _not_ the way Mum told that rule to me.”

* * *

Walking through Driftveil City is almost surreal. Sometimes, as they walk past a row of brick warehouses, it feels familiar, like they’re just walking through Motostoke on their way to the stadium. Then they emerge onto a street filled with towering buildings covered in green glass, a flock of Pidove flies overhead, and Hop remembers that they’re actually in a completely different city thousands of miles away.

He does his best to stick by Lee’s side on the way to the hotel, but he can’t help occasionally darting ahead to look at something new that catches his eye. First it’s a street vendor selling precious stones that were supposedly mined in Driftveil. Then it’s a Trainer with an adorable Lillipup, a Pokémon that can be found on the Isle of Armor in Galar but that Hop has never seen in person. Then, it’s a wild Pokémon that Hop doesn’t recognize at all – it has long, skinny legs and fur the color of autumn leaves – so he drops his suitcase to chase after it. However, he always makes sure to jog back to Lee’s side before Lee takes a wrong turn and gets himself lost. By the time they reach the hotel, Lee has ended up dragging both his and Hop’s suitcases behind him while Hop waves at him from the front door and calls for him to catch up.

While Lee checks in at the front desk, Hop explores the hotel lobby. He’s immediately drawn to a table in the center that has a giant piece of emerald ore sitting on top; it’s cool to the touch. He remembers reading about a mine on the north side of the city managed by the Gym Leader here, and he wonders if this emerald was dug up from that mine. Next, he finds the breakfast room that connects to the lobby – it’s dark right now, obviously, but he can make out a few tables and booths and what looks like a bar inside. A sign on the podium blocking the entrance informs him that the breakfast room is open from six to nine AM. Finally, he races over to one of the plush orange couches littered around the lobby and leaps onto it. It’s a lot firmer than it looks. Hop amends his plan to lounge on the couch until Lee’s done and joins him at the front desk instead.

Fortunately, Lee’s just finished checking in when Hop gets there. “Hop– oh, you’re right here. Room 2302,” Lee says, sliding their card keys off the counter and handing one to Hop.

“This hotel has _twenty-three_ floors!?”

“Twenty-five, actually,” the concierge says.

“Whoa,” Hop breathes. “I didn’t know buildings could _get_ that tall.”

The concierge chuckles. “Enjoy your stay, gentlemen.”

As they head to the elevators, Lee says, “What do you mean, you didn’t know buildings could get that tall? Rose Tower is four times that.”

“Well, I’ve never _seen_ Rose Tower.”

“I’ve sent you pictures from the top of Rose Tower!”

“But _I’ve_ never been there.”

“You should still know that it’s taller than this hotel.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“Well, you couldn’t even find Rose Tower if I pointed it out to you on a map, so your opinion doesn’t count.”

“You’re allowed to admit that you’re wrong, you know.”

“I know. But I’m not wrong.”

“Are too.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

Hop sticks his tongue out at Lee, and that’s the end of that conversation. Conveniently, the elevator has just arrived at their floor, so they can step out and find their room. Or, rather, Hop can find their room while Lee trails behind him like a wayward Wooloo. Fortunately for him, Room 2302 is only a short walk away from the elevators, so he _might_ be able to make it back to them without Hop leading the way.

Lee lets Hop swipe his keycard to open the door to the room. When they walk inside, Hop can’t help breathing out a little “whoa” as he surveys the space.

The entrance hall is illuminated by little square lanterns that are seated against both walls. Giant floor-to-ceiling windows take up one wall of the room, flanked by yellow curtains that they can close when they’re ready to sleep. A white L-shaped couch sits in one corner of the living area, and next to it an end table with emerald ore on it like a miniature version of the crystal down in the lobby. The floor is tile, but there’s an ornate rug in the area by the couch. Hop thinks it’s big enough that they could cram their whole flock of Wooloo in here, and he hasn’t even seen the bed or bathroom yet.

Hop pokes his head in the bathroom and decides it’s the least impressive part of the space; there’s a vase of flowers on the counter and the shower has two glass walls, but aside from that it’s pretty standard for a hotel bathroom. He heads back into the main room and finally sees the bed – or, rather, the _beds_ : big, grand four-posters with drapery to match the windows.

“There are _two_ beds!?” he exclaims.

“Yes?” Lee says, bemused. “What, did you think there would only be one?”

“Well, I guess…’m not used to getting my own bed, is all.” Hop shrugs off his backpack and lays it down against the dresser. “At least when we’re traveling.”

“They actually tried giving me two separate rooms at first,” Lee chuckles. “Took a few phone calls to convince them that I just wanted a single room for two people.”

Hop whips his head around to stare at his brother. “I could’ve had my own _room_!?”

“You don’t need your own room,” Lee says, rolling his eyes.

“Uh, yes, I do,” Hop scoffs. “I don’t want to be kept up by your snoring.”

“I don’t _snore_.”

“How would you know? You’re not the one who has to listen to it,” Hop says, kicking off his shoes. Before Lee can protest any further, Hop sprints across the room and leaps onto the bed, letting out a laugh of delight as he sinks into the soft mattress. “Ahh, it’s like lying on a cloud! Lee, you gotta try this!”

Groaning bedsprings tell Hop that Lee is sitting down on the other bed. “Oh, wow, that is really soft.”

“Told ya.”

“Not as soft as a Wooloo, though.”

Hop rolls over and purses his lips. “I’ll be the judge of that,” he declares. “Wooloo, come on out!”

Wooloo bursts out of his Poké Ball and lands on Hop’s chest. He wraps his arms around Wooloo and squeezes tight. Wooloo bleats contentedly and rubs his face against Hop’s.

“Yeah,” Hop says. “Nothing beats holding a Wooloo.”

He closes his eyes and buries his face in Wooloo’s wool. He takes a deep breath, taking in the familiar musty scent of grass and dirt and home that clings to his partner. He exhales slowly and lets his head fall back onto the bed. Exhaustion is beginning to creep over him again.

The mattress dips beside him. “You look comfy,” Lee says. Hop cracks one eye open and watches his brother scratch Wooloo gently behind the ears. “Sure you don’t wanna stay here instead of going to the opening ceremony?”

Hop hums thoughtfully. Between Wooloo’s warmth above him and the soft mattress below him, staying here is very tempting. But does he really want to pass up his opportunity to see the PWT for the first time, to encounter more Pokémon from Unova that he’s never seen before, to meet the powerful Trainers that his brother will be defeating in the tournament? And if it really comes down to it…Lee promised they would get food when they arrived at the PWT. And Hop is hungry.

“I’m coming,” Hop says, opening his other eye. He rolls Wooloo to the side and sits up. “When do we leave? I’m starving.”

Lee laughs. “Well, I need to unpack my stuff so I can change. You can start unpacking your things, too. We can head over there when I’m done.”

Unpacking is far from the most exciting thing in the world, but at least with Wooloo to help it’s a little more interesting. By the time Lee has finished changing into his classic Champion uniform, complete with cap and cape, Hop and Wooloo have finished unpacking and are playing chase around the living area.

“Alright, you little rascals. Ready to go?”

Hop skids to a halt; Wooloo can’t stop in time and bumps into his legs. “Ready!”

“Then…” Lee bows dramatically and gestures toward the door. “After you.”

* * *

For a battle facility that hasn’t officially opened yet, the Pokémon World Tournament is positively bustling with activity. Workers rush around, adjusting the colorful banners that line the main walkway. Vendors set up their goods and services at the adjacent stalls, ranging from Unova souvenirs to Pokémon move tutoring. A handful of Trainers are gathered in front of a large fountain shaped like a Poké Ball along with their Pokémon – Scraggy, Sandile, and Unovan Darumaka. Hop wants to go talk to them, but Lee drags him to a food truck so they can eat dinner first. Only once he’s done eating is Hop allowed to run over and greet the Trainers and their rare Pokémon, and they fawn over Wooloo in turn.

After Lee finishes eating, they head into the stadium. People mill about the lobby, some wearing blue and red shirts with “STAFF” on the back, others not. There are two counters on either side of the lobby attended by staff members, and a couple more staff members block off a hallway on the far side. Two staircases lead up to a second-floor balcony, which leads to even more hallways. It’s about as big as Wyndon Stadium, which Hop’s been to loads of times to watch Lee’s matches. There’s one key difference between this stadium and Wyndon’s, though; Hop actually knows how to get around Wyndon Stadium.

“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Hop asks.

Lee wraps his hand around Hop’s and squeezes. “Not a clue.” Then, he marches with confidence across the lobby, following the plush blue carpet to the staff members on the opposite side.

The staff members are talking to a young woman with long purple hair and a poofy pink-and-white dress. The young woman and the staff members all look up at their approach, and a big smile breaks out on the young woman’s face. “Hiya! Leon, right?”

“The one and only,” Lee says, mirroring her smile.

“Perfect! That’s the last one!” she says. “Ricky, will you go let Clay know that all the Champions have arrived?”

The named staff member nods curtly and heads down the hallway. Meanwhile, the young woman turns her attention to Hop. “Hi there,” she says. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Hop!” he says. “Lee’s my big brother. And this is my partner, Wooloo!”

Wooloo bleats in greeting. The young woman squeals. “Oh my gosh, you’re such a cutie!” She bends down to pet Wooloo and gasps. “Ooh, and your wool’s so soft, too! How precious!”

Hop slips his hands in his pockets, watching the stranger gush over his Pokémon. The Trainers by the fountain outside had reacted similarly. Wooloo never gets this kind of attention from other Trainers in Galar; Wooloo are so common in Galar that for most people, the novelty of Wooloo has already worn off. It warms Hop’s heart to see other people loving his favorite Pokémon just as much as he does.

“I’m sorry,” Lee finally says, “you are…?”

“Huh? Did I forget to introduce myself?” The young woman blinks, looking up at Lee and Hop. She stands upright and brushes the dust off her hands. “I’m Iris, current Champion of Unova! Nice to meet you!” she says, shaking Lee’s hand. “Your Chairman’s told me loads about you.”

“All good things, I hope?”

“Mostly,” Iris says with a wink. “It’s nice to meet you too, Hop,” she adds, shaking Hop’s hand.

“So,” Lee says, “where do we sit for the ceremony?”

“Well, all the Champions get front-row seating,” Iris says. “Their guests are supposed to get a private box. I think splitting us up like that is dumb, so I’ve just been letting them both sit in the first two rows and if people get fussy, we can upgrade _them_ to the private box.”

Hop grins. He likes Iris already.

“I can show you to your seats, if you want,” she offers.

“That would be great,” Lee says, relieved.

“You’d better, ‘cuz he’ll just get lost otherwise,” Hop says, bouncing to Iris’s side. “Lee’s terrible with directions.”

Lee catches up to Hop for the sole purpose of elbowing him in the ribs.

* * *

Waiting for the opening ceremony to start is horribly boring. Hop isn't allowed to go anywhere in the stadium without Lee, and Lee just spends the whole time talking to the other Champions and their guests. He’s introduced to a few of them, but his brain is too foggy to remember any of their names. He had thought that conversations between Champions would be interesting, but it turns out they just talk about boring adult stuff like every other adult does. Iris is the only one who bothers talking to Hop at all, but she has to help get things ready and disappears a whole hour before the ceremony begins.

By the time the ceremony starts, Hop is starting to regret his decision not to stay at the hotel and sleep. It’s taking all of his willpower just to sit upright in his seat. The temptation to lean on Lee’s arm and fall asleep is strong, but then Lee gets called up to the battlefield for something and that option is out. He can’t use Wooloo as a pillow because the crowd noise would scare it, and there’s no _way_ he’s going to rest his head on the scary blue-haired lady on his other side. The announcer is saying something about the Champions, and the tournament, and the crowd is cheering…Hop’s struggling to keep his eyes open…maybe it wouldn’t hurt…to rest his head…on his arms…just for…a little…bit…

Someone pulls Hop to his feet; he lets out a half-hearted grunt of protest. “C’mon, Hopscotch. You’re too big for me to carry all the way back to the hotel.”

“Lee…?”

“Yeah, it’s me," he says softly. "Ceremony’s over. Let’s get back to the hotel.”

Hop leans into his brother’s chest. “’m tired.”

Lee rubs his back. “I know. Let’s get you back to the hotel and you can sleep all you want.”

“You’ll…get lost.”

Lee’s shoulders shake with silent laughter. “I’ll manage, Hopscotch.”

Lee takes Hop’s hand and gently tugs on it. Hop doesn’t even open his eyes, just faithfully stumbles along after his brother. They stop more than a few times; sometimes someone says something to Lee, but Hop doesn’t have the energy to parse out the meaning of their words. Lee says some things in response; “can’t” and “brother” and “jet lag” come up a lot. Hop hopes he’s not keeping Lee from anything important.

Eventually, Lee stops and lets go of Hop’s hand. Hop lets his eyes flutter open, wondering where his brother went. Lee’s crouching in front of Hop now, and he offers an apologetic smile before reaching out and grabbing something from Hop’s waist. It’s not until he hears his bleat that Hop realizes it was Wooloo’s Poké Ball. Lee asks Wooloo for help with something. Hop slips his hand back into Lee’s. Lee squeezes his hand; Hop closes his eyes; they continue their trek.

Finally, after far too much walking, Lee leads Hop back to the hotel room. Hop slips off his shoes while Lee slips off his jacket. He cracks his eyes open wide enough to remind himself where the bed is, then makes his way over to it and slides under the covers.

“Night, Hopscotch,” Lee whispers. A gentle kiss on his forehead is the last thing Hop is aware of before he finally succumbs to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do like the theory that Hop and Leon are related to Iris, but for the purposes of this story I'm not going to use it. Still, I think she and Hop will get along well - she's the youngest reigning Champion and she loves to hang out in nature. Instant buddies.
> 
> Also, sleepy Hop is precious and deserves the world. <3


	3. Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for all the support on the first two chapters!! This fic has become my most popular non-ship fic under this pseud, and it makes me very happy to see so much love for this fic that's become very near and dear to my heart.
> 
> On that note, I'd like to apologize for this chapter taking so long to come out. I got busy with school and other fics, and once I finished all of that the chapter wound up becoming so ridiculously long that I had to split it in two to make it manageable to read...on the bright side, that means the next chapter is already 99% complete, so I'll actually be able to do a weekly update for once!
> 
> With that...let's get back to Hop and Leon's adventures! <3

Hop wakes slowly, vague images of his dream dissipating from his mind before he can consciously remember them. The mattress is soft, and the comforter is warm. It’s comfy enough to tempt Hop into falling back asleep.

But it’s his second day in Unova! The first day of the tournament! Once Hop remembers that, there’s no way he’s going to calm down enough to sleep any longer. He sits up, rubbing his eyes. Wooloo is curled up at the foot of the bed, and Hop reaches forward to pet him. But Wooloo’s such a deep sleeper that he doesn’t even stir. Hop slides his legs out from under the comforter and swings them over the side of the bed.

On the other bed, Lee is still fast asleep, bedsheets tangled so much that only one of his legs is actually covered by them. His comforter is wrapped around one of the bedposts, his arms are splayed out haphazardly, and his hair is as wild as a Rookidee’s nest. Hop smirks. For as much charisma as his brother has out in public, he’s an absolute mess when he sleeps.

Hop crosses the living room and flings open the curtains, letting the morning sunlight stream in. The sun has already risen above the horizon, illuminating the people of Driftveil City as they head about their days. Lee groans behind him while Hop admires the view; he loves the way the glass on the skyscrapers sparkles like precious jewels in the light.

“You’re up early,” Lee grunts.

“It’s a new day! You gotta get up and greet it!” Hop exclaims, pumping his fist in the air.

Lee grunts again and rolls over, mumbling something unintelligible into his pillow.

“What was that?”

He turns his head to the side. “I said, the day can wait until I’ve had some coffee.”

Hop laughs. “C’mon, it’s the first day of the tournament today! Aren’t you excited?”

“It is _way_ too early for me to get excited about anything.”

Hop sticks his tongue out, even though he knows Lee isn’t looking. “I’m going to get dressed,” he announces. “You have ‘til I’m done to get up.”

“And if I don’t?”

Hop giggles mischievously. “You’ll see.”

Getting dressed normally wouldn’t take Hop very long, especially since he could get away with just re-wearing his clothes from yesterday. But Lee’s still waking up, so Hop’s going to take his time. He tries out the shower – the temperature knob is really finicky, so it takes him a minute to get the water to a good temperature – and towels off, then puts on a clean t-shirt and pants. He runs a comb through his hair and finally heads back into the room to grab a pair of socks.

To his annoyance, Lee still hasn’t gotten out of bed. In fact, he might have even fallen back asleep, if the even rise and fall of his chest is anything to go by. Hop frowns; he thought Lee had kicked his oversleeping habit after he became Champion. Honestly, how does he make it on time to _anything_ like this?

(Oh, that’s right. He doesn’t.)

Well, Hop did warn him.

He sprints towards Lee’s bed and leaps, landing right on top of his brother. Lee yelps and jolts awake. “I’m up, I’m up!” he cries, pushing a giggling Hop off of him and sitting up. “Did you take a shower before you put those clean clothes on?”

“Yep!”

“Oh. Good,” Lee hums, patting Hop on the head. “I didn’t even have to remind you.”

“Hurry up and get ready,” Hop says, poking Lee’s side. “I’m starving!”

“Well, what kind of brother would I be if I let you starve?” Lee yawns and slips out of bed. “Why don’t you feed and brush Wooloo while you’re waiting for me?”

Hop bobs his head obediently and scoops Wooloo up off the bed, startling him out of his slumber. He carries Wooloo over to the couch to brush him. Once Wooloo’s coat is all springy and clean, Hop sets out a bowl of Pokémon food for him. By the time Wooloo has finished eating, Lee’s gotten dressed, so Hop returns Wooloo to his Poké Ball. Then, he and Lee head down to the lobby to get breakfast themselves.

The breakfast room is open and bustling with activity. It’s a self-serve buffet, complementary for all hotel guests. Hop races over to the end of the line and grabs two plates, handing the second one to Lee when he catches up. He bounces on his feet as he waits for the people in front of him to serve themselves. But after the line starts moving, he discovers that the food options aren’t very appealing: potatoes mixed with peppers and onions, hard-boiled eggs, a weird yellow mush. There’s not even any cereal or yogurt or anything plain like that. Hop starts to worry that there won’t be _anything_ at the buffet that he likes, but in the very last serving dish, there are pancakes. He piles his plate high with pancakes and drowns them in syrup. Lee, meanwhile, is far less of a picky eater than Hop, so he tries a little bit of everything.

“Hey, Lee,” Hop says after they’ve sat down at a booth and started eating, “how many Champions are participating in this tournament?”

“Eight, including me. One representative from each of the major regions.”

“Ooh, so it’s a three-round tournament. Like the Champion Cup!”

“That’s right!”

Hop frowns. “But…if there are only seven battles, why’s it take three days? You can easily fit that many battles in a single day.”

“Normal PWT tournaments will only take one day,” Lee says. “But since this is the inaugural tournament, they really want to hype it up, make sure there’s lots of media coverage, that sort of thing. So they’re spreading out the battles more by only doing one round per day. That also means no one has to fight twice in one day, which is easier on the Pokémon.”

“What Pokémon are you going to battle with today? Or are you waiting to see what Pokémon your opponent will use first? Do you even know who you’re fighting today? What if you’re fighting Iris? Oh, wait – what’s the battle format?”

Lee chuckles. “One at a time, Hopscotch. To answer your first question, I’m thinking of using Dragapult today.”

“Not Charizard?” Hop pouts.

“Nope. I want to give my whole team a chance to shine in this tournament!” Lee grins. “It’s one-on-one battles for the first round, two-on-two for the second, and three-on-three for the third. I’ll save Charizard for the third-round battle.”

“Awesome! This is gonna be so much fun!” Hop exclaims, shoving a fat piece of pancake into his mouth.

“Right! We’re going to have a real champion time!”

* * *

After breakfast, Lee and Hop head upstairs to put on their cape and jacket, respectively. Lee also grabs a duffel bag to carry a change of clothes in, for after the day’s battles are over. Hop lets Wooloo back out once they’re outside of the hotel, and the three make their way back to the Pokémon World Tournament.

The tournament lobby is far more crowded than it was yesterday, loads of people milling about as they head to their seats or wait for their friends to arrive. Hop quickly bends over to pick up Wooloo so he won’t get kicked or startled, and Lee puts a hand on Hop’s shoulder. Hop glances up at him, but Lee is looking out at the crowd with a furrowed brow; he probably doesn’t know where to go today, either. Hop will have to take the lead.

He begins making his way through the crowd, going slowly so that Lee’s hand doesn’t get dislodged from his shoulder. He looks at the people around them, hoping to spot Iris or a staff member. He doesn’t, but he does spot the scary blue-haired lady from yesterday when she pushes her way past them so roughly that she nearly knocks Hop over. Fortunately, Lee is there to steady him.

“Oi, Champ!” someone yells. Hop doesn’t recognize the voice, and he’s sure there are plenty of Champions around, so he ignores it. Lee has to tug on the collar of Hop’s jacket to get him to stop and pay attention to it.

The voice belongs to a stout man wearing a leather suit and a big cowboy hat. Hop and Lee make their way over to the counter in the lobby that the man is standing beside. 

“Yer the Galar Champ, right?” the man says, tilting his head up to look at Lee. “Name’s Clay. I’m the Gym Leader ‘round these parts.”

“That’s right. I’m Leon,” Lee says, shaking Clay’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“Iris told me ya’d need help gettin’ to the locker room,” Clay says gruffly. “Asked me to show ya the way. ‘Cuz I ain’t got _anything_ better to do.” He rolls his eyes.

“Erm…thank you. But I, um, my little brother – I need to bring him to his private box. Before I can – before the locker room.”

Hop whips his head around to stare at his brother. Lee _never_ stutters. The only times Hop has ever heard him stutter are times when a situation made him uncomfortable, and Hop has no idea what about this situation would make him uncomfortable. The mention of Iris? The offer to guide him to the locker room? The grumpy attitude? None of that is anything new for Lee to deal with. But why else would he be stuttering?

“The guest box’s not that far out of the way,” Clay grunts. “I can bring you there first.”

Lee nods. “Let’s go, Hop,” he says. There’s no conviction or enthusiasm behind the words at all. It’s unnerving. Hop needs to fix this somehow.

As they follow Clay up one of the staircases, Hop puts Wooloo down so he can lace his hand with Lee’s. Lee glances at him. “Are you okay?” Hop murmurs, loud enough for Lee to hear him but not so loud that Clay can.

Lee squeezes Hop’s hand. “I’m fine, Hop.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Hop presses himself against Lee’s side. “Super-duper ultra-mega-double sure?”

Lee cracks a smile and throws an arm around Hop’s shoulders. “Super-duper ultra-mega- _triple_ sure,” he says.

Hop grins back. He may not know what got Lee uncomfortable in the first place, but he got Lee smiling again, so he considers that a success.

He’ll save the interrogation for later.

* * *

“This is…not quite as private as I was expecting.”

“We ain’t got enough private boxes for _every_ Champ’s guest to have their own.”

Lee makes an exasperated noise. Hop doesn’t see what the problem is. There are only six other people in the guest box, and it’s plenty spacious, with three big windows that look out over the arena and tables and chairs scattered about the room. It’s a lot quieter up here than it was in the stadium yesterday, so Wooloo can stay with him in the box, too.

“I just don’t feel comfortable leaving my little brother in a room full of strangers,” Lee says.

“Aw, they’re not strangers once you get to know ‘em!” a cheerful voice says.

Hop, Lee, and Clay turn around to see Iris standing in the doorway behind them, hands on her hips. She’s changed up her outfit a bit from yesterday, replacing the dress with a cream-colored shirt, pink skirt, and white leggings. Her hairstyle is different, too – less fancy and more fluffy.

Hop grins and waves. “Hi, Iris!”

“Thought you were busy gettin’ things ready for today,” Clay says grumpily.

“I was! And now I’m done, so I came up here to relax and enjoy the fruits of my labor!” She beams. “Hi, Hop! You’re looking a lot more chipper than you were last night.”

Hop pumps his fists in the air. “I got a good night’s sleep and now I’m ready to see some awesome battles!”

Clay grunts. “Well, you can take over from here, then,” he says to Iris. “I’ve got better things to do than an escort mission.”

Iris steps out of the doorway to give Clay room to leave. Then she turns back to Hop and Leon.

“Are you staying up here, Iris? You don’t need to open the tournament or anything?” Lee asks.

“Nope! Took care of all the formalities last night,” Iris says. “This way I don’t have to wear my Champion dress for the whole tournament, and I can sit back and enjoy the battles like you, Hop!”

“Huh? You’re not participating, Iris?” Hop asks. “Who’s representing Unova in the tournament, then?” 

“Our former Champion, Alder!”

“Why?”

“Hmm, it’s a little complicated to explain. And _you_ need to get down there before the tournament starts,” she says, poking Lee in the chest. “Tell you what! Leon, I’ll bring you down to the locker room. Then I’ll come back up here and answer your question, Hop. Fair?”

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave Hop alone up here with…?” He gestures to the other people in the box.

“Don’t worry! Everyone here’s a guest of a Champion. They’re all honest, respectable people,” Iris says. “And a bunch of ‘em are strong Trainers in their own right. He’ll be fine. Right, Hop?”

“Yeah!” Hop exclaims.

“Alright,” Lee concedes. “Just remember Mum’s rules, okay? Don’t leave the box without me.” He pauses for a moment to think. “Or, if you’re with Iris. That’s okay, too.”

Hop grins and gives his brother a hug. “Thanks, Lee! Good luck in your battle!”

Lee smirks and ruffles Hop’s hair. “I don’t need luck – I’m the unbeatable Champion! I’ve got this whole tournament in the bag!”

Iris snorts. “Let’s see how sure of that you are once you’ve seen everyone else battle.”

“You only say that because you haven’t seen _me_ battle.”

After Lee and Iris leave, Hop glances around the room at the other gathered guests. They’re all adults, and Hop is a little hesitant to just go up to one of them and start a conversation. The scary blue-haired lady is talking to a group gathered around one of the tables; Hop decides to get as far away from her as possible. That puts him on the side of the room by the windows, where a man and a woman wearing lab coats are having their own conversation.

“It’s all very mysterious,” the woman is saying. “There’s still so much we don’t know about it.”

“Oh, I can sympathize,” the man says. “There’s still so much we don’t know about Mega Evolution, too. But the prospect of solving those mysteries…that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?”

“What’s Mega Evolution?” Hop asks, drawing their attention to him. He’s familiar with Evolution, obviously, but he’s never heard of Mega Evolution before.

“It’s a phenomenon first discovered in the Kalos region, where I’m from,” explains the man. “It only occurs during battle, and it causes Pokémon to temporarily change their form and become stronger. Some Pokémon have their types or Abilities changed, too.”

“Whoa! That sounds so cool!” Hop exclaims. “How does it work?”

“It’s triggered by the use of two stones, a Key Stone for the Trainer and a Mega Stone for the Pokémon. Beyond that…well, I’m still researching it,” the man chuckles.

“Research? Are you a professor?”

“That’s right! You can call me Professor Sycamore. Understanding Mega Evolution is the focus of my research.”

“I’m a professor, too,” the woman chimes in, winking at Hop. “Professor Burnet. I study the relationship between Pokémon and other dimensions. Not quite as flashy a topic as Mega Evolution, but still quite mysterious. I leave the flashiness to my husband – he’s a professor, too!”

“And you?” Professor Sycamore asks Hop.

“I’m not a professor,” Hop says cheekily. “I’m Hop!”

“Nice to meet you, Hop,” Professor Burnet says, shaking Hop’s hand. “Where are you from?”

“Postwick, in Galar,” he says.

“Galar…that’s Leon, right?” Professor Sycamore says thoughtfully. He scrutinizes Hop for a moment. “Are you brothers?”

“Erm…yeah,” Hop says, feeling a little lost. “But, um, how did you…?”

“After seeing him in the opening ceremony? You look just like him,” Professor Sycamore says.

Hop blinks. “Oh.” The Champions were probably introduced at the opening ceremony last night, which Hop practically slept through. That’s why they can tell which Champion he came with just by knowing which region he’s from.

Hop doesn’t know any of the other Champions, though, so he’ll just have to ask. “Who invited you to the tournament, Professor Sycamore?”

“Diantha. She’s an old friend of mine,” Professor Sycamore says. “It’s good for us both to take a little break from work!”

“Break from work? But she’s a Champion, isn’t she?”

“Well, yes, but that’s not a full-time job,” the professor says. “Her main line of work is acting. She’s quite famous – have you seen any of her movies?”

“Um, I don’t know…I don’t watch movies much,” Hop says, bemused. He’s still trying to wrap his head around the idea of a Champion whose main job isn’t _being Champion_. What about the exhibition matches, the photoshoots, the interviews, the city visits? Maybe it’s another example of those cultural differences Lee was talking about. If being Champion isn’t such a big deal in other regions, then other regions’ Champions won’t have all the responsibilities that Lee has – so they’ll have time to work other jobs.

“I’ve seen a couple of her films,” Professor Burnet chimes in. “I always loved her performances – she’s such a talented actress!”

Professor Sycamore beams. “Isn’t she?”

Hop has no desire to hear them gushing about an actress that he’s never even heard of, so he quickly redirects the conversation. “Which Champion did you come with, Professor Burnet?” he asks.

Professor Burnet chuckles. “Actually, I came with my husband. Professor Kukui.”

“Your husband is a professor _and_ a Champion? You can _do_ that?” Hop asks, eyes wide.

“Not exactly,” she laughs. “See, Alola’s a pretty traditional place. We don’t have a Pokémon League like other regions. Instead, we have the island challenge. Young Trainers travel across the Alolan islands, taking on trials and grand trials, and any Trainer who manages to clear all of them is given the title of island challenge champion. There are loads of Trainers who’ve earned that title, and my husband happens to be one of them.”

“So how did your husband get selected to represent Alola?” Professor Sycamore asks.

“Well, he is one of the strongest Trainers in the region,” Professor Burnet says. “Champion Iris called one day and explained that they were organizing a tournament of the strongest Trainers from every region, and she was going to leave it up to us to decide who we want to represent us.”

“I called Kukui because he was the regional professor of Alola,” Iris says from beside Hop. He jumps – how long had she been standing there? “I didn’t expect him to call me back and say he would be the one representing Alola!”

Professor Burnet grins. “My husband has always dreamed of Alola’s Trainers getting to be recognized on a world stage,” she says. “He’s even proposed the idea of starting a Pokémon League in Alola once or twice. So when the kahunas met up to discuss who to send as a representative to the tournament, they unanimously voted for him.”

“That’s awesome!” Iris says. “When Clay first proposed the idea of letting every region have one representative in the tournament, some people didn’t want to invite Alola precisely because they don’t have a Champion to represent them. I thought that was a dumb reason to exclude a whole region from the tournament, so I went ahead and contacted the professor anyways. If this tournament helps people to realize that Alola’s Trainers are just as strong as any other region’s…well, all the more reason to have it!”

Their words remind Hop of how Lee’s always encouraging the Trainers of Galar to be the strongest they can be. Funny how even though the regions they come from couldn’t be any more different, Lee and Professor Kukui have basically the same dream. It fills Hop with a fuzzy sort of warmth, realizing that the people of Alola aren’t that different from the people of Galar after all.

“Now then, Hop,” Iris says. Hop snaps to attention. “Obviously you’ve met Professor Sycamore and Professor Burnet, but have you met all the others yet?”

Hop shakes his head.

“Then allow me to introduce you!”

She links arms with Hop and drags him to the group on the other side of the room. A flurry of names and faces are thrown at him in rapid succession: Blue from Kanto, guest of their Champion, Red; Clair from Johto, the scary blue-haired lady, whose cousin is their Champion; a much friendlier blue-haired lady, Lisia, who’s the niece of Champion Wallace; an old lady from Sinnoh who’s the grandmother of their Champion, Cynthia. It’s a lot of information to take in at once – he knows he didn’t catch everything that they told him – so Iris takes pity on him and escorts him away from the group pretty quickly. She shows him to a seat where he’ll have a great view of the battlefield, and they hang out there until the battles begin.

The first match is Wallace versus Red, and Hop immediately discovers the downside of watching all the matches from a private box – he can’t hear anything that the Trainers are saying. To make up for it, the announcer’s commentary is played directly over the speakers in the box, so Hop doesn’t have any difficulty following the battle.

A little after the match starts, Lisia rushes up to the bench where he and Iris are sitting. “Hey! I’m not too late, am I?”

“Nope! The battle just started,” Iris says, patting the bench next to her. “Have a seat!”

Lisia plops onto the seat and stretches her arms up above her head. “I was just fixing my hair in the bathroom when I heard them announce that the battle was starting. I had to rush out before I was done – is it too noticeable?”

Hop glances at her hair for a moment – it’s styled all neatly, with a small blue headband on top helping smooth it out. “It looks pretty,” he offers, turning his attention back to the battle.

“Why, thank you! Hop, right?”

Hop nods. Down on the battlefield, Wallace’s Milotic uses Recover to heal itself from the damage that Red’s Snorlax dealt with Body Slam.

“I’ve only been to Galar once, and I couldn’t _stand_ it there. I don’t think I’ll ever go back.”

That’s enough to draw Hop’s attention away from the battle. “Why? What’s so bad about Galar?” he demands.

Lisia freezes with a strand of hair twisted around her finger, like she didn’t expect Hop to hear her. “Oh, there’s nothing wrong with the _region_!” she rushes to say. “It’s very beautiful. Colorful, too. It’s more that…the _people_ and I don’t get along.”

“What – what does that mean?”

“Everybody in Galar is just so…battle-crazy, and battles really aren’t my thing,” Lisia says, shrugging apologetically.

“But Pokémon battles are _awesome_!” Hop exclaims. “Strong moves clashing, Trainer and Pokémon moving in sync, clever strategies, direct hits – doesn’t it just make your heart race!?”

Lisia tilts her head and puts a finger on her temple. “Mmm…not really?”

“What are you doing at a battle tournament of Champions, then!?”

She laughs nervously. “Yeah, I’m really out of my element, aren’t I? My uncle really wanted me to come. It’s not that I hate battles, it’s just…there’s this whole other amazing side to Pokémon, and all I can see when Pokémon battle is all that untapped potential.”

“You’re talking about Pokémon Contests, right?” Iris asks.

“That’s right!” Lisia beams. “Look – watch the way Uncle Wall battles.”

They turn their attention back to the match, where Snorlax is charging at Milotic with an attack. Wallace issues a command, and Milotic leaps into the air. It arcs above Snorlax, firing an orb of water into the air. Milotic lands on the ground behind Snorlax, and a few moments later, the orb of water lands directly on top of Snorlax and explodes.

“See that elegance? That grace? _That’s_ what makes my heart race,” Lisia says. “My uncle’s incorporated it into his battle style after years of doing both battles and contests. Showcasing that performative side of Pokémon is what Contest Spectaculars are all about! I want the whole world to see just how many varied and awesome ways you can raise Pokémon. That’s my dream!” She winks at Hop. “Who knows, maybe someday you’ll come to Hoenn and participate in a Contest Spectacular yourself!”

Hop wrinkles his nose. “No thanks,” he says. “I’m gonna take on the Gym Challenge and become the strongest Trainer – even stronger than my big bro! That’s _my_ dream!”

Iris smiles. “Isn’t it funny how different people can be equally passionate about completely different things? Here’s to hoping you two can both achieve your dreams!”

Iris fistbumps both Hop and Lisia. Then Hop gives Lisia a fistbump himself. He can’t imagine not loving Pokémon battles, but he can kinda understand the appeal of contests; the showy way Wallace battles is mesmerizing. And Lisia reminds him a bit of Sonia – he thinks they’d be good friends if they met. So, overall, Hop thinks he likes Lisia.

He never expected that meeting new people at this tournament would be just as fun as the battles themselves.

* * *

Between matches, Hop asks Iris for the tournament bracket. To his dismay, Lee’s match is the last of the day. He had thought that Lee would be able to join him to watch the remaining matches after his battle was over, so it’s a little frustrating to know that he won’t be seeing his brother again until all the battles are done for the day.

At least Iris is good company – she knows almost all the other Champions personally, so she has lots of fun stories to tell during the next match. Afterwards, there’s a break for lunch. Lee has press interviews, so he can’t join them, but Iris treats Hop to delicious pizza and ice cream.

“Aren’t you going to have some, Iris?” Hop asks after he’s ordered his vanilla cone.

Iris shivers. “Nope! Cold and I don’t get along. That’s one thing I have in common with my dragons.”

They take a seat on a bench near the docks so Hop can eat his ice cream. He gets a dollop of it on his nose, making Iris giggle uncontrollably until he finally wipes it off. In retaliation, he waves the ice cream cone in her face; she scrambles to the other side of the bench to get away from it. Hop laughs and finishes the rest of the ice cream cone in two bites.

He likes hanging out with Iris – it’s almost as good as hanging out with Lee. She’s strong, and she knows about everything, and she doesn’t have a problem with being goofy every now and then. It’s nice, too, that she acknowledges Hop as Hop first and Lee’s little brother second. He’s proud to be Lee’s brother, obviously! But…he didn’t realize how nice it would feel to be treated as his own person until Iris started doing it.

“You know, Iris, I think you’re the coolest adult here,” Hop declares as she slides back towards him. “’Sides Lee, of course.”

Iris bursts out laughing.

Hop smiles awkwardly. Was what he said really that funny?

She finally straightens up, wiping the moisture from her eyes. “Sorry, sorry,” she says, covering her mouth with a hand – probably an attempt to hide the fact that she’s still giggling. “Thank you, it’s just – I’m not an adult.”

Hop’s jaw drops. “Huh? You’re not!? But you act so grown-up with everyone else!”

“I have to, if I want anyone to take me seriously,” she sighs, lowering her hand. “I’m the youngest reigning Champion. Most of the Gym Leaders and all the Elite Four are adults. Adults don’t want to take orders from a kid, so I have to act like an adult if I want them to listen to me.”

“Oh…”

“Your brother’s had to deal with a lot of this, too, I’ll bet,” she adds. “He still holds the record for being the youngest Champion _ever_. How many adults would want to listen to a ten-year-old kid, you know?”

“I…” Hop folds his arms. He was really young when Lee became Champion, so he doesn’t remember much of what it was like for him in those early days. Not that Lee really _told_ him much about what he was doing as Champion – all Hop wanted to hear about was the battles. But as far back as Hop can remember, Galar always loved Lee. He can’t imagine anyone not listening to Lee just because he’s young. “I don’t think Lee ever had to deal with anything like that.”

Iris snorts disbelievingly. “Something to ask him about later, then.”

Hop shrugs and glances away, towards the harbor. There’s only one ship docked there – a big black sailing ship, just like the sailboats in Hulbury. This ship is way bigger than any boat he’s ever seen in Hulbury, though. “Hey, Iris, do you know what that ship is for?” he asks.

Iris looks at it for a few moments, considering. “No, I’ve never seen it before,” she says. “It doesn’t look like a shipping vessel. I’ll bet Clay knows, though. Why d’you ask?”

Hop shrugs. “No reason. Just curious.”

“Anyways, we should head back inside. The next match will be starting soon,” Iris says, getting to her feet.

Hop grins. “Race you!” He jumps up and sprints towards the entrance.

“Wha– Oh, you’re going down!” Iris shouts.

By the time he makes it back to the box, smiling and out of breath, Hop's forgotten all about the big black ship at the harbor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what they say...curiosity killed the cat.


	4. The Unbeatable Champion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My last fic update of 2020! And with this, I've officially posted 24 times this year - that's an average of two updates a month. I did update twice a month most months this year. I'm really proud of myself for that accomplishment, and here's to hoping I can keep it up into 2021!
> 
> But that's completely unrelated to the chapter at hand. So without further ado, please read and enjoy! <3

Hop and Iris make it back to the box just in time. They plop down onto their usual bench, Hop letting Wooloo out to sit in his lap, as the announcer is introducing the competitors for the next battle. First onto the field is Kalos’s Champion, Diantha; her opponent is Unova’s former Champion, Alder. It still strikes Hop as odd that Unova is being represented by an old Champion when their current Champion is here and perfectly capable of participating in the tournament. Why not have the person who’s currently the strongest Trainer in the region represent the region in a tournament like this?

“Hey, Iris?” Hop asks, glancing at her. “Why is Alder representing Unova in the tournament instead of you?”

“Oh! That’s right, I promised I’d explain that when I got back. My bad!” She leans back on the bench and gazes up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Well…like I said, it’s a little complicated. See, back when Alder first became Champion, he was incredibly popular and well-respected. He valued strength above all else, and that really resonated with a lot of people. But, several years ago, Alder lost his Pokémon partner, and he was never quite the same afterwards.”

“Oh,” Hop says quietly, hugging Wooloo close to his chest. He can’t imagine how difficult it must be to lose a Pokémon partner. “That’s awful…I’m so sorry.”

“He’s made peace with it now,” Iris says. “But it took a long time. He spent years wandering aimlessly around the region while he grieved, so people started to view him as careless and irresponsible. When he came back, he’d completely changed his philosophy on battling, saying that it was more important to enjoy battles than to win them. By the time I took over as Champion…he’d lost the respect of almost everyone in the region.”

“Well…you’re not much of a Champion if you can’t win battles or take care of your region, right?”

“But he can!” Iris exclaims, clenching her hands into fists. “He can be a bit too relaxed and carefree sometimes, sure. But he made sure the Elite Four were looking out for Unova while he was traveling, and he’s plenty strong enough to be a Champion! He deserves to be in the Champions tournament just as much as anyone else here!”

She’s gotten so into her little speech that she’s now standing up, one foot propped up on the bench. She takes a few deep breaths, lowers her foot, and sits back down beside Hop. “So, I’m letting Alder represent Unova in the tournament as a statement to everyone that I trust him to represent our region,” she finishes. “So then, when he wins the tournament, the people of Unova – and the whole world – will finally recognize that he’s just as skilled a Trainer as ever.”

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Hop says.

Iris shoots him a bewildered look. “What? Why?”

“Because Lee’s gonna win the whole tournament!” Hop says with a cheeky grin.

“Hmph! We’ll just see about that!” Iris retorts.

For Iris’s sake, though, Hop roots for Alder in the battle. He and Iris are the loudest to cheer when Alder’s Accelgor defeats Diantha’s Gourgeist.

~

 _Finally_ , it’s time for Lee’s match. His opponent is Cynthia, the Champion of the Sinnoh region.

“I’ve met her a few times,” Iris comments. “She rents out a beach house in Undella Town every summer and invites some of us in the Unova League to drop by whenever she’s around. She’s really nice and a powerful Trainer to boot!”

“Doesn’t matter how strong she is. She won’t beat Lee,” Hop declares.

“You really have a lot of faith in your brother, huh?”

“Of course I do!” he exclaims. “Lee’s amazing! He hasn’t lost a single battle since he set off on his Gym Challenge! He’s the greatest Champion Galar has ever seen!”

“We’ll see about that,” Iris says, leaning back on the bench and smirking. “You two keep _saying_ he’s such a great Trainer, but how do I know that’s not just all talk?”

“Just watch this match,” Hop says. “Lee’s battling speaks for itself!”

“Then it shouldn’t need you to hype it up,” Iris says, smacking Hop on the head.

Hop cheers loudly when Lee walks out onto the field, even though he knows Lee can’t hear him – it’s the thought that counts. Iris cheers for Cynthia. The two Champions exchange a few words that Hop and Iris can’t hear and then send out their Pokémon. Lee uses Dragapult, just like he’d said he would. Cynthia’s Pokémon is incredibly rare, too – a Garchomp. Hop’s never seen one in person before. He presses his face up close to the glass so he can get a better view.

“Wow!” Iris exclaims, leaning as close to the glass as Hop. “Garchomp versus Dragapult? It’s a clash between dragons! This is gonna be so exciting!”

Lee wastes no time getting the match started, immediately throwing out a hand to command an attack. Dragapult launches his two Dreepy at Garchomp. Garchomp leaps into the air, so the first Dreepy flies underneath it. But as gravity pulls Garchomp back down, the second Dreepy closes in on her target. She hits Garchomp directly in the face, knocking it backwards.

“Ha-ha! How d’you like that Dragon Darts?” Hop shouts. He glances at Iris. “Not a bad way to start, eh?”

“A move where Dragapult attacks by launching the Dreepy on its head,” Iris muses. “It’s certainly unique. Anybody would be caught off guard if they didn’t know what to expect.”

Garchomp gets to its feet and, after a command from Cynthia, it glows with light blue energy and charges at Dragapult – Dragon Rush. However, Dragapult arcs gracefully over Garchomp and fires a jet of water into the air that rains down on top of Garchomp a few moments later. Hop lets out a whoop of delight.

“Did – did he copy that move from Wallace?” Iris gasps.

“Bet!” Hop exclaims. “Lee learns from every battle he watches – that’s why he’s unbeatable!”

“Watching another Trainer’s battle and using their tactics with your own Pokémon is one thing,” Iris says. “But…how much time could he possibly have had to _practice_ that tactic after seeing Wallace use it? To pull off a move like that successfully on the first try…that’s nothing short of incredible,” she admits.

Hop beams.

Dragapult and Garchomp exchange a couple more moves on the field, but thanks to their agility and well-timed commands from their Trainers, nothing lands. Then Garchomp uses Dig, tunneling underneath the battlefield. “Ooh…we’re gonna have to get that hole fixed before tomorrow,” Iris says, wincing.

Hop holds his breath, waiting to see how Lee will respond to Cynthia’s move. His brother smirks and commands an attack. Dragapult vanishes. Hop giggles.

“Huh? I looked away for just a moment – where did Dragapult go?” Iris asks.

Hop giggles again. “Phantom Force!”

“Phantom – ohhh, I see. Clever.”

With both Pokémon now in hiding, preparing to use a two-turn attack, it seems like the battle has come to a stalemate. Giving up their position means immediately opening themselves up to be attacked. Lee and Cynthia exchange some words down on the battlefield, and what Hop wouldn’t give to be able to hear what they’re saying. But finally, Garchomp digs up to the surface, emerging from the ground on the opposite side of the field. It immediately goes into a defensive stance.

Lee commands Dragapult to attack. At the same moment, Garchomp crosses its arms and forms a green shield around itself. “That’s Protect,” Iris notes.

Hop laughs. “Silly Cynthia. Doesn’t she know you can’t protect yourself from Phantom Force?”

Garchomp suddenly goes flying across the arena, its shield shattered. Dragapult has appeared in the spot where Garchomp used to be. Garchomp isn’t down for the count yet, though – it gets back to its feet and slams its claws into the ground, causing a series of sharp, pointed stones to rise up from the ground in Dragapult’s direction. Dragapult is unfazed, weaving his way around the row of stones.

But before the Stone Edge attack has even finished, Garchomp is charging at Dragapult again. He doesn’t have time to dodge before Dragon Rush scores a direct hit. Hop gasps. Dragapult is knocked to the ground.

“Come on, Dragapult, shake it off!” Iris cheers. “It’s just one hit. No big deal!”

“For Dragapult, it’s kind of a big deal,” Hop says. “He’s pretty frail. His speed and agility make him really hard to hit, but if you do…” He winces. Picking Dragapult for a one-on-one match was a risky move, and if anyone else had done it Hop would have called it a bad one. But Lee always knows what he’s doing, and he can get out of this situation with a victory. Hop’s sure of it.

Dragapult finally picks himself up off the ground and lets out a roar to tell the crowd that he’s not done yet. “That’s the spirit, Dragapult!” Hop cheers.

Dragapult fires another Dragon Darts attack. This time, Cynthia is prepared for it; Garchomp falls back, giving itself enough room to dodge both Dreepy.

But Lee has a big grin on his face, and Hop bounces eagerly in his seat. That’s the grin Lee gives when he’s about to use his finisher. Without waiting for the Dreepy to return, Dragapult opens his mouth and launches a huge, bright, orange orb of energy in the air above Garchomp. The orb explodes, making tiny orange orbs rain down on it.

“That’s the ultimate Dragon-type move – Draco Meteor!” Iris exclaims, pressing her face against the glass. “Awesome! Get ‘em, Dragapult!”

Garchomp doesn’t stand a chance. It dodges all the meteors it can, but the barrage of pure draconic energy is too much for it to withstand. It falls to the ground, unmoving.

The referee declares Garchomp unable to battle, and Lee strikes his signature Charizard pose to celebrate his victory. Hop does the pose right along with him.

“Yeah! He won! He won!” Iris cheers, jumping up and down. Hop laughs, and she gives him a high five.

“I thought you weren’t cheering for Lee,” Hop says, grinning from ear to ear.

“I changed my mind. He is that good!” Iris grins back.

Down on the battlefield, Lee and Cynthia meet in the center and shake hands before leaving the arena using the exits on their respective sides of the field. Once they’ve left, the crowd begins to disperse.

Iris turns to Hop. “Wanna go down to the locker room and surprise him? I can get you in there.”

“Really?” Hop exclaims, pumping his fists. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Follow me!” she says with a wink.

~

There’s a security guard standing in front of the locker room door when they arrive, but he steps aside to let both Iris and Hop in. Unlike the ones in Wyndon Stadium, this locker room doesn’t lead directly into the arena; it’s a spot for competitors to hang out as much as it is for them to get ready for their battles. The room is filled with couches, tables, and TV screens. Doors on opposite sides of the room presumably lead to the actual lockers, and a tournament chart is posted on the far wall.

Iris leads the way to the door on the left side of the room, but she doesn’t open it. “This is as far as I can go,” she says with a shrug. “Girls’ locker room is on the other side. Tell your brother congrats for me, okay?”

“You’re leaving?” Hop asks.

“’Fraid so,” Iris says apologetically. “Gotta take care of some things – like making sure the battlefield gets repaired before tomorrow.”

“Aww…”

“Hey, chin up! I’ll see you tomorrow,” Iris says, tapping the underside of Hop’s chin. “Lots more exciting battles to come in round two!”

Hop grins. “Yeah!”

He waves goodbye to Iris and heads into the next room. It is, as he predicted, lined with lockers. The only people in the room are Lee and Professor Kukui; Lee is sitting in the middle of the long bench in the center of the room. He’s changed into casual clothes and is lacing up his high-tops while conversing with Professor Kukui at the same time. Because his foot is propped up on the bench in the direction of the door, Lee notices Hop as soon as he enters.

So much for surprising him.

“Hop!” Lee grins. “How did you get in here?”

“Iris let me in!” Hop says, mirroring Lee’s grin and bounding over to him. “She says congrats, by the way. She didn’t think you would win.”

“Was the title ‘unbeatable Champion’ not convincing enough for her?” Lee chuckles. He takes his foot off the bench, allowing him to face Hop and Professor Kukui at the same time. “Professor, this is my little brother, Hop. Hop, this is Professor Kukui of the Alola region.”

“I know!” Hop chirps. “I saw your battle, Professor. Congrats on winning – it was a really close match!”

The professor grins. “Thanks! Felt good to finally give that Lance a little taste of Revenge! Woo!”

Hop blinks. “Uh – r-revenge?”

“Just a little play on words, cousin. Don’t sweat it,” Professor Kukui laughs, clapping Hop on the shoulder. “Lance and I have a bit of history, yeah? I took on the Gyms in Kanto a long time ago, back when Lance was a member of their Elite Four. My team and I made it all the way to him, but he really messed us up! Never became a proper Champion because of him.”

“So now you get to represent your region in the Champions tournament! And you sure showed that Lance what’s what!” Hop exclaims. “That’s pretty wicked, mate!”

“I’d love to stick around and chat some more, but I’ve gotta make a U-Turn to the lobby,” Professor Kukui says. “Don’t wanna leave the wife waiting too long, yeah?”

“Of course,” Lee says. “It was great talking to you, Professor. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

The professor waves and jogs away, leaving Hop and Leon alone in the locker room. “C’mon, Lee, we’ve gotta get going, too!” Hop says, tugging on his brother’s arm.

Lee chuckles, putting his foot on the bench to finish tying his shoes. “What are you in such a hurry to get to?” he asks.

Hop grins, spreading his arms wide. “Everything!”

“Alright, alright. Let me finish tying my shoes, and then we can–”

A shrill ringing cuts through Lee’s words. He pats his pockets for a moment before his Rotom Phone jumps out of his bag, flashing the screen for an incoming call. Lee shoots Hop an apologetic look before answering the phone.

“Chairman Rose! I wasn’t expecting to hear from you this late.”

Hop flops down on the bench with a resigned sigh, resting his head on Lee’s leg. Of all the people who could have called right now, it just _has_ to be the chairman. Hop doesn’t mind the chairman, really; he’s very friendly, and he even let Hop try using a Dynamax Band once (unfortunately, Lee found them and put a stop to it before Hop could throw the Dynamaxed Poké Ball, but it was fun while it lasted). But when the chairman calls Lee, their phone calls can last for _ages_ , and the last thing Hop needs is the rest of their daylight being burned away by a dumb phone call. He’s barely gotten to see _anything_ in Driftveil besides the PWT and the hotel, and he _needs_ to get out there and start seeing the sights.

Driftveil Market is at the top of his to-do list – it’s an open-air market full of shops selling goods imported from all over the _world!_ It’s like the market in Hulbury, but way bigger! But Hop wants to take his time there, browsing through all their wares and picking out souvenirs, so it’s better saved for a day when they have more time to spare. For today, he thinks they can explore the city a little –wander around the residential district, see the lighthouse, visit the Gym…

Hop’s stomach grumbles. Getting dinner would be a good idea, too.

Mercifully, Lee hears it and saves him from his plight. “I’d better go, Chairman. Hop’s stomach is growling louder than a Perrserker, and I think he might eat me if I don’t feed him soon,” he jokes. He pauses for a moment to let the chairman speak, and then says, “I will, I will. Thank you again, sir.” The chairman says a few more words, and then Lee finally hangs up.

“Sorry about that, Hopscotch,” Lee says, squeezing Hop’s shoulder.

“It’s fine!” Hop declares, leaping to his feet. “The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get exploring!”

“Then let’s get going!” Lee says, getting to his feet, too.

He makes it about three steps before tripping on the shoelaces that he hadn’t finished tying. By the time he finishes sitting down and tying them, Hop is literally dragging him across the room to get him out the door faster. Hop leads the way through the hallways back to the entrance, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to make sure Lee hasn’t managed to get himself lost somehow. But Lee keeps up, and once they reach the lobby, he catches up to Hop and starts running alongside him.

They race through the main entrance and emerge together into the dying rays of sunset.

“No!” Hop moans, slumping over in defeat. “We can’t go exploring the city when we can’t _see_ it…”

“I’m sorry…is there anything you wanted to see that’s indoors?” Lee suggests.

“No,” Hop mumbles. Then he straightens up. “Well, actually, I wanna see the inside of the Driftveil Gym. I’m super curious to see how different the Gyms in Unova are from the Gyms in Galar!”

“Ah.” Lee scratches his head. “With Clay being so busy with the tournament, I’m not sure that the Gym is even open to challengers right now, let alone visitors.”

“Oh,” Hop says, shoulders sagging.

“Sorry,” Lee says again, wrapping his arm around Hop’s shoulders and pulling him into a side hug. “Let’s find a super-delicious restaurant where we can have dinner, okay?”

~

“What was Chairman Rose calling about, anyways?” Hop asks over dinner. If the chairman is going to ruin Hop’s carefully disorganized plans, he might as well know why.

“He watched my match on the telly, and he wanted to congratulate me on winning,” Lee says. “Speaking of which…” He starts counting off names on his fingers. “Professor Kukui congratulated me. Iris congratulated me. Chairman Rose congratulated me. Someone’s missing from that list.”

“Oh, really? Who?” Hop asks, slurping up a spoonful of spaghetti to keep himself from grinning.

“Someone who needs to be reminded about good table manners,” Lee retorts, waggling his fork at Hop. “If the spaghetti is dangling from your mouth, it’s too much spaghetti. And don’t you dare start talking with your mouth full.”

Hop bites down on the spaghetti in his mouth, letting the dangling ends fall back onto his plate. Then he chews the noodles remaining in his mouth and swallows.

“Better. Now, is there something you’d like to say to me, Hop?”

“Congrats on beating Cynthia! I knew you’d win.”

“Thank you!” Lee beams.

“But…you were talking with the chairman for an awfully long time,” Hop says. “He couldn’t have called you just to congratulate you, could he?”

“No, you’re right,” Lee admits. “He needed to tell me about an interview he booked for the two of us on Thursday morning.”

“Huh? They’re interviewing you _and_ me?”

“No, no – it’s for Chairman Rose and me,” Lee clarifies. “He’s flying out here early Thursday morning and then leaving after the final match. It’s a small thing; it probably won’t even affect you. Don’t worry about it!”

“Oh. Okay,” Hop says, twirling some spaghetti on his fork. “Is he gonna join us in the private box?”

“Not sure. He didn’t say.” Lee rubs his chin thoughtfully. “I’m sure Iris would allow it, but the chairman might prefer having his own private box. Especially if Oleana’s coming with him.”

Hop nods and sticks the forkful of spaghetti in his mouth. “Mmm…this is really good,” he mumbles around the spaghetti.

“Hop. What did I _just_ say?”

~

After dinner, they head back to the hotel and give Mum a call. She’s eager to see Hop – evidently, Lee had called her last night after Hop fell asleep, so she hasn’t gotten to hear any of Hop’s account of things. He tells her all about the tournament, Lee’s victory, Iris, the Pokémon, and everything else he’s seen in Unova so far.

“But we’ve barely gotten to see _anything_ in the city,” Hop complains. “And we’re only here for two more days! There’s no way we’ll have time for everything I wanted to do.”

“I warned you that would happen if you picked too many things,” Mum says.

“But I didn’t! I just wanted to visit Driftveil Market, take a tour of the city, and meet cool new Pokémon…”

“That’s a pretty reasonable itinerary,” Lee says. He smiles at Hop. “I’ll make sure we can do some of that tomorrow, Hop. I promise.”

They’re interrupted by a loud bleat from Wooloo. He tugs on Hop’s pant leg. Hop stares at him in confusion for a moment before it clicks. “Oh – I forgot to feed you, Wooloo! I’m so sorry!” he cries, jumping to his feet.

He hurries over to get Wooloo’s food from his bag while Lee continues talking to Mum. He spends a minute petting Wooloo as an apology for being late with the food. By the time he gets back to the couch, Lee’s saying goodbye to Mum. Hop dives onto Lee’s lap just in time to wave goodbye before Mum ends the call.

Hop rolls onto his back and looks up at Lee. Lee looks down at him. “Hi,” Lee says.

“Hi,” Hop says back. He giggles.

“Alright, you little rascal,” Lee says, tickling Hop’s stomach and making him giggle even more. “You’re getting giggly. And when Hop starts getting giggly, that means it’s time for Hop to go to bed.”

“Nooo,” Hop protests. “I’m not tired.”

“Come on. You remember Mum’s rule,” Lee says, patting Hop’s chest. “When I say it’s bedtime, it’s bedtime. Now, get up – I wanna go to bed, too.”

Hop groans and sits up, giving Lee enough room to get up and head over to the dresser. Then he flops back down on the couch.

“I don’t recommend sleeping there,” Lee calls over his shoulder. “No blankets, and it’s bad for your back.”

“’M not gonna,” Hop says, eyelids fluttering closed. Then they fly open as he remembers something that he wanted to ask his brother. “Hey, Lee?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you look so uncomfortable when Mr. Clay offered to show you the way to the locker room this morning?”

Lee freezes with one hand on a drawer handle. He turns to look at Hop and rubs the back of his head. “Ah…you noticed that?”

“You _stuttered_ ,” Hop says matter-of-factly, sitting up and swinging around to face Lee.

“Right.” He sighs, running his fingers through his hair. “Well, it’s complicated. And it’s nothing you need to concern yourself with, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Too late,” Hop says. He bounces to his feet and over to his brother. “I’m smart! I can understand complicated stuff.”

“It’s boring…I don’t think you’d be interested.”

Hop wraps his arms around Lee’s waist and stares up at him as intently as possible.

The corners of Lee’s mouth quirk up slightly. “Alright, fine,” he says. “Let me sit down first.”

Hop lets go of Lee and follows him to his bed, where Lee takes a seat with his back leaning against the headboard. Hop flops down in front of him, propping himself on his elbows and resting his chin on his hands. Lee folds his hands across his chest and sighs deeply.

“I was embarrassed. Needing a guide to get to the locker room, inconveniencing someone else because of my abysmal sense of direction…it’s not a good first impression.”

Hop furrows his brow and tilts his head. “But… _everyone_ knows you’re pants with directions. That’s never bothered you before.”

“Everyone in _Galar_ knows that. But outside of Galar, well…people expect that an adult can find their way around a place on their own. And I can’t, so…” He shrugs helplessly. “I try to show people who I am as a Trainer before they find out I can’t navigate to save my life. I have to, if I want anyone to take me seriously.”

Lee’s words ring a bell in Hop’s mind. He lets his arms fall and crawls over to Lee’s side, letting his head rest on his brother’s shoulder. Lee wraps an arm around him instinctively.

“Is that ‘cause you became Champion so young?” Hop asks quietly.

Lee is silent for a few moments. “Yeah,” he finally says. “I’m still young compared to most of the other Champions. How’d you know?”

“Iris told me that she had to deal with that…people not taking her seriously ‘cause of her age. She said that you probably had to deal with the same thing. I…” Hop swallows down the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. “I didn’t believe her. I never knew…”

Lee’s arm tightens around him. “I never told you,” he admits. “Like I said, it’s complicated and not something you need to be worrying about.”

“I’m sorry you have to deal with people like that,” Hop says.

“Thank you, Hopscotch,” Lee murmurs.

“Thank you…” Hop trails off into a big yawn. “Thanks for telling me.”

“You’re welcome,” Lee says, bringing his other hand up to ruffle Hop’s hair. “And you can thank me by going to bed without complaining.”

Hop doesn’t protest as Lee sits him upright and shoos him off to the bathroom. He changes into pajamas, brushes his teeth, and then heads back into the main room. Lee’s sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for him.

“I’m too old to be getting tucked in, Lee,” Hop mumbles as he climbs into bed.

“No such thing!” Lee responds cheekily. “Besides, you didn’t seem to have a problem with it last night.”

“That doesn’t count. I was tired.”

“And you’re tired now, too. So shush and let me tuck you in,” Lee says, pushing Hop’s head down onto the pillow and pulling the comforter up to his chin. “Goodnight, Hopscotch. Love you.”

“Night, Lee. Love you too.”

Hop closes his eyes, and Lee presses a kiss to his temple. Fantasies of what the next day might bring dance through his head. As he finally drifts off to sleep, the one thought that’s strongest in his mind is the hope that he and his brother will get to spend a lot more time together tomorrow than they did today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, this is the most detail I'm ever going to go into with the battles in the tournament. Writing battles isn't easy, and writing battles between skilled Trainers is a nightmare. Plus, the tournament is really just a backdrop for me to write all these fun character interactions. So, future chapters are just going to skim over the battles like the last one did.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments feed a writer and comments in particular will help this fic thrive. <3
> 
> Or, come yell at me on tumblr - [mala-sadas](https://mala-sadas.tumblr.com/) is my main and [postwick-palace](https://postwick-palace.tumblr.com/) is my side.


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